Phosmet
- Detection Rate
- 0.5%
- Benchmark Usage
- 0.687%
vegetable Data Profile#18 of 34 in vegetables
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes has a pesticide load score of 57 and a Food Compass 2.0 score of 78, based on 3,243 monitoring samples.
Pesticide Load57Moderate load (0=clean, 100=max)
Food Compass 2.078exact nutritional match
Monitoring Samples3,2432009–2024 lab tests
Benchmark Coverage48.2%of detected residue load
Preparation & Safety
How to wash and prepare sweet potatoes
Because sweet potatoes has higher surface permeability, synthetic pesticides easily adhere to the skin. To reduce exposure by up to 80–90%, soak in a 1% baking soda water solution (1 tsp baking soda per 2 cups cold water) for 12 to 15 minutes, then rinse vigorously under running water.
Market Comparison
How sweet potatoes varies by market
| Market | Load Score | Samples Tested | Detection Rate | Reliability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | 57 | 2,702 | 53.4% | ✓ Solid (2702) |
| UK | 31 | 48 | 33.3% | ✓ Solid (48) |
| DE | 28 | 351 | 60.7% | ✓ Solid (351) |
| FR | 15 | 83 | 28.9% | ✓ Solid (83) |
| IT | 22 | 18 | 5.6% | ⚠️ Sparse (18) |
| PT | 25 | 41 | 17.1% | ✓ Solid (41) |
⚠️ Data Note: Markets marked with Sparse have under 30 official laboratory samples in the public record. A 0% detection in sparse tests does not guarantee absolute absence of residue in that region.
Chemical Residue Breakdown
Primary chemicals detected on sweet potatoes
Thiabendazole
- Detection Rate
- 6.7%
- Benchmark Usage
- 0.06%
Methamidophos
- Detection Rate
- 0.1%
- Benchmark Usage
- 0.02%
Fludioxonil
- Detection Rate
- 10.9%
- Benchmark Usage
- 0.013%
Public Evidence Trail
Official monitoring sources for sweet potatoes
FranceEFSA chemical monitoring — France
83 samples · 2024–2024 ↗GermanyEFSA chemical monitoring — Germany
351 samples · 2021–2024 ↗ItalyEFSA chemical monitoring — Italy
18 samples · 2020–2022 ↗PortugalEFSA chemical monitoring — Portugal
41 samples · 2020–2024 ↗United KingdomUK Pesticide Residues in Food programme
48 samples · 2020–2020 ↗United StatesUSDA Pesticide Data Program
2,702 samples · 2009–2018 ↗TaiwanTaiwan FDA fruit and vegetable monitoring
216 samples · 2021–2026 ↗Explore Peer Produce
